Breaking the glass ceiling: The effects of sex ratios and work-life programs on female leadership at the top

Data, at the level of the corporation, revealed that the percentage of lower-level managerial positions held by women in the 1980s and early 1990s was positively associated with the number of work life human resource practices provided in 1994 and with the percentage of senior management positions held by women in 1999. In turn, the number of work-life human resource practices provided in 1994 was positively associated with the percentage of senior management positions held by women in 1999 and partially mediated the effect of lower-level female representation on senior level female representation. These results support the blending of a social contact theory perspective and a strategic human resource management perspective when explaining the glass-ceiling phenomenon, and have important implications for managing human resources and individual careers.